John Howard Griffin Themes

“If we could only put ourselves in the shoes of others…we might become aware of the injustice of discrimination and the tragic inhumanity of every kind of prejudice” (John Howard Griffin). Griffin’s account sheds light on the notion that racial discrimination exhibits a horrendous attack on African-Americans. To reverse the problem, Griffin executed his plans on exposing the dark sins of racism to spark change in society. The most important lesson to grasp from Griffin’s account lies in one’s power to have an open-eye for the struggles of others in the world. To have an open-eye for others, one must learn to capitalize and identify these main themes: identity, hypocrisy, community, and religion. To begin with, identity plays a significant

The white racist utilizes hypocrisy to justify their prejudice and double standards for the blacks. As an illustration, blacks themselves aren’t accepted by white taxi drivers, only their money. As Griffin notes, “You mean a white driver’ll take a Negro passenger?" I asked. "Yeah." "They wouldn't in New Orleans… they said they weren't allowed to." "They're allowed to do anything to get your dime here, he said” (64). In this quote, the taxi drivers display hypocrisy due to the notion that blacks money stands accepted but not them as a person. Blacks aren’t considered superior enough to deserve the civil rights that whites have, except when it comes to their money. To put it another way, white racist has strong animosity towards blacks, yet they’re attracted to the black women. Griffin states, “I’ll tell you how it is here. We’ll do business with you people. We’ll sure as hell screw your women. Other than that, you’re just completely off the record as far as we’re concerned” (105). A white hunter who gives Griffin a ride in Alabama displays his racism towards Griffin. Even though Griffin saw the hunter as a respectable man, the hunter reflected himself as a repulsive bigot. This hypocrisy comes from the notion that a racist could conduct business and sexual interaction with a group, while still not having the proper respect for them. As has been noted, hypocrisy can be used as a tool for racist to justify their prejudice beliefs, while also exhibiting themselves in a superior light. To comprehend both sides, one must show eagerness to accept equality for others and not use ignorant tactics to segregate one